


Something Wicked This Way Comes

by TheFoxofFiction



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternative Universe – Dark Ages, Alternative Universe – Monsters and mythical beings, Ask me to tag because i don't know what to tag, Blood and Violence, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, High Fantasy, I have no idea how to tag this..., It's dark... and might get darker, Minor Character Death, Multi, graphic description of violence, this aroace will try to write pinning... it might end horrible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-01-30 10:04:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12651360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFoxofFiction/pseuds/TheFoxofFiction
Summary: On the run from her village Katie Holt takes asylum into the old forest, there she meets someone that will mean a lot more to her than she first anticipated, a man by the name Keith.Together they set out on a mission in finding a witch or wizard that can take Katie in to teach her how to control her magic.But many dangers lurks along the way but so does also dear friends and welcomed allies."And into the Forest I'll go to lose my mind and find my soul"- Unknown





	1. Prologue  -Out in the Woods Somewhere-

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so... uh... here you all go

  

Chapter 1: Prologue

- **Out in the Woods Somewhere** -

 

_The smoke from the stake, along with the smell of burnt flesh and hair, had scorched its scent in her nostrils, making it all she could smell. Her eyes were still red and glassy from the smoke, despair and heartache._

_Her earth brown dress tangled around her legs, along with the once white underskirts and knee long drawers. Her light brown hair slapped and twisted behind her as she ran for dear life, amber eyes red rimmed and glassy from shed and unshed tears._

_She cast a hasted look over her shoulder to see the light from the torches held by the villagers, that she once had called friends and almost family._

_Now they were all chasing her with fire, pitchforks and some of the men wielded old-fashioned guns, loaded and ready to be used, the dogs barked loudly as they chased her sent, she dove under branches and tried to keep from stumbling over roots of the trees in the dark forest._

_All this because of her mother being a witch…  
She got the blame for her husband and son’s disappearance forced upon her. A deed she had nothing to do with, but no one had listened and she had been burnt at the stake._

_Leaving her daughter alone in the cruel dark world, with only her own wit and poorly educated magic, to figure out what really had happened to the rest of their family and to find them._

 

A yelp was torn from her throat when the ground suddenly disappeared from under her feet and she stumbled and rolled down a muddy hill, she came to a halt and found herself on the bottom of a almost dried out river bank. She stumbled when she tried to get back to her feet only to slip and land with a splash in the mush of earth and water of what was left of the river.  
It drenched and stained her dress and undergarments, making it seem to merge with the darkness of the night. She shivered at the cold as she pushed herself to her feet and splashed over the ankle deep water making her leather shoes flop unhappily as they got filled with water, she scrambled up to the other side of the riverbank and hid behind a couple of big moss-covered rocks. She panted harshly for air to catch her breath as she tried to come up with an idea on what to do.

 

She took out the knife from its sheath she always carried, fastened around her thigh right above her knee, hidden by both her skirts and drawers, her brother had given it to her and told her to keep it close, just as a safety precaution; the blade was forged with silver and iron to keep evil spirits away.

She looked down at the sharp and clean blade with a mix of emotions

 Slowly and hesitant gathered she her hair in her left hand, and moved the knife till it rested with the flat side against her hand, some strands of hair already getting cut and blew away in the chilly early autumn wind.

She forced her eyes together biting her lower lip in a mix of emotions.  
She loved her hair, so very much, it was her pride, her mother always brushed it and her brother made braids and plates with her hair or have it gathered in a bun along with flowers.  
But she had to do this if she wanted to survive and not be recognised.

 

She took a deep breath and pushed the hand she held the knife with upwards.  
The sound of hair getting cut and torn of filled her still ringing ears and then she had gotten through the long brown strands.

She held her long hair in her hand; the now short and uneven locks flew around her head as they blew around lazily in the wind that curled the strands of her now short hair naturally, while also making strays she didn’t get in her hold to fly away, out in the dark night.

She looked down at the hair in her hand mournfully, before she put her knife back in its hiding spot.

 

She flinched when she heard the village dogs bark loudly, and men talk on the other side of the riverbank. She dared to glance around the rock she was hiding behind, keeping her head near the ground to not be seen by the villagers. She saw how the search party had gathered near the edge of the riverbank, the dogs moved left and forth sniffing and growling loudly at the very edge, trying to catch her scent that the soggy earth was hiding.

She looked back to her hair that she still was holding, and determination flashed through her amber eyes before she moved her free hand to hold over the hair.

She mumbled some magical words from the old magical tongue her mother taught her.  
Her eyes flashed green before her hair started to move and as she let go of it, her hair transformed in the wind to a slightly paler replica of herself, it stood crunching before her, face expressionless.  
She closed her eyes and mumbled another string of magical words and the replica ran off to the left.

She heard how the villagers saw the replica, by how they called out and took up the chase, letting the dogs loose, to hunt her down.

 

She huddled closer to the rock she was hiding behind until the noise and lights from the torches had died down, leaving the forest once again in complete darkness.

She cast a look around the rock to make sure she was alone before she ran into the dark and old forest.

 

She stumbled and froze when a gunshot echoed through the night.

Waking a group of crows that flew from their resting place cawing in fright and anger at being bothered this late.

She stared in the direction she knew her replica had run, and reached out with her hand and felt that her magic had gotten broken, she closed her eyes clenching her fist and grimaced, if they shot the replica it showed just how much they wanted her gone. She took a shaky breath and kept running, faster this time, to get as much space between herself and the villagers.

 

-O-

 

The forest grew darker and thicker around her and it became harder to keep the same pace as before, but she didn’t stop nor slow down, causing branches and leaves to snap and shatter under her feet she pushed branches and vegetation out of the way with her hands and forearms.

 

Her mother had said when she was little and afraid of the dark, that in an old forest the most dangerous being was you and your magic, and you better know it.

She stumbled and face planet in a still slightly warm puddle of something she **didn’t** want to know what it was made of. Before pushing herself up on her elbows gasping harshly for air, before she started to cough when the smell hit her, it was disgusting and burned her nose.

The sudden halt in movement made her aware just how much her chest hurt from the wild beat of her heart and the burn in her lungs, her legs trembled from the strain of having run for so long.

A rustle in the leaves and a snap of a branch med her aware of the animals watching her there she still laid on the forest floor, clothes absorbing the dew of the night and the wetness from the ground.

She heard them move in the dark, the dry leaves rustling and a branch snapping under hoof and furry paw. An owl hooted out a warning to its relatives, somewhere in the darkness under the crowns of the tall old trees.

She slowly crawled up on the knees and grabbed her sleeve and rubbed the stinking mush off her face the best she could.

 

A loud bark from a dog jerked her out of her stupor and she jolted back into action, startling some of the animals that dared to move closer, with how much they suddenly caused noise, but they stilled fast when she didn’t move to attack.  
She started to run again.  
She didn’t care about the animals.

The dogs had caught her scent.

 

-O-

 

A clearing opened up before her, coloured silver in the fading gibbous moons light. In one edge of the clearing stood an old run down cottage. Its walls were the same colour as the trees and one wall merged with an old big oak tree. Ivy and hops along with other clinging and no clinging plants grew along the walls and roof along with moss which made the old wooden walls almost invisible against the foliage of the forest as it merged the cottage with the environment so well it was clear it been there for a while.

A thin strip of smoke rose from the crocked chimney and faint light came from inside the cottage, falling through the dirty windows. A small porch with an old half rotten fence was before the entrance. The two steps up to the porch were made by old moss and algae covered rocks, worn by weather and use.

 

She panted for air as she wondered what to do.

She had grown up to the bedtime stories of the crazy lunatic that the forest had claimed as its own: an old man with big crooked nose and very, very ugly face and a hunched back and deformed body. Many said it was a human who had turned to a troll. It was said that he kidnapped children and ate them, but no one knew for certain, but every child knew not to enter the old woods after dark, because then the forest would take you.

 

A shout from behind her made her finch and squeak out in fright and she turned around to see the lights from the torches between the trees far away still but getting closer. She didn’t know what to do as panic rose inside her causing her heart to gain speed again. She knew that if they caught her, she would meet the same fate as her mother, and then, no one would learn the truth of what happened to her father and brother.  
She didn’t want to die, and she wanted- no, _needed_ to find her family.

 

 

She hurried up to the door, making the porch’s old molten wood complain under her weight and dirty and wet shoes and knocked on the old weathered door, maybe a bit harder than needed.

Nothing.

She stared at it and knocked again, now with her whole fist as hard as she could.

No sound came from the inside.

  “Please! Let me in! If they catch me I’m **dead**! _Please_ in god’s name, I need your _help!_ ”

 

The door creaked open with a slight complain, as the wind pushed at her back as if telling her to enter the cottage. She looked around outside and swallowed hard before she dared to enter.

She closed the door behind her silently and moved further into the house facing the door as if expecting the villagers or anything to push it in and attack her.

When nothing happened she exhaled a breath of relief and dared to look around.

It was small.

The cottage had two rooms as far as she could tell; the room she was in had an old fireplace built from rounded uneven stones, with a cauldron puttering over the embers of a dying fire. Dried herbs that she recognized and herbs she didn’t recognise hung from the beams that held up the roof that she first now noticed was thatched.

Dried meat and fish hung on a creation of wooden beams the size of her pinkie over the fireplace, only so that they caught the smoke and not the fire. She cast a look out the dirty window and saw the lights of the torches; she flinched and moved closer to the window, but hunched at one of the edges where she wouldn’t be seen from the outside, she pushed an old chair with a plait thrown over its back, to stand behind her. To hide her in shadows so she would be able to see out the window better without risk of being seen.

 

She sank down further on her knees when the villagers left the forest line and entered the clearing. She almost heard what they said through the glass but she couldn’t make any sense of it. Some of the men pointed at the cottage while others seemed to ponder and look around.

 

They stooped to start talking among themselves as the dogs move around sniffing at the ground, before one of them walked over to the door and started to scratch at it, trying the handle to open it, causing the rusty iron handle to jiggle unhappily before it started to bark, getting the villagers attention.

  “Don’t let them in _please!_ ” Pidge pleaded in a desperate whisper as she forced her eyes together. She didn’t hear how the door closed a bit harder and grew stuck in the wall. She looked back up when she heard the other dog growl loudly and barked, but not at her or the cottage but at the forest on the opposite side of the clearing where the villagers stood gathered.

 

A person stepped out from the darkness of the forest and entered the illuminating light of the moon, they carried no lantern. A dead deer hung over their shoulders.

The villagers turned to the person with uncertainty.

  “Have you seen a young girl run past here?” the leader of the village asked. She was able to hear them now when they spoke louder than when they spoke among themselves.

The person ignored them and continued to walk towards the cottage; she saw the big hunting knife on their hip as it flashed in the moonlight. It was clean, making the metal sparkle.

  “It seems the forest let in some unwanted guests.” the person muttered in an annoyed voice, and that was when she knew that it was a man, despite their slim body.

  “What is that supposed to mean?!” another villager shouted one of the younger ones, a good friend of her brother.

The man carrying the deer turned around to face them, she couldn’t see his face, but from the way the villagers reacted in fear, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.

  “This forest is not for the likes of _you_ , leave while you still have your life. Whoever it was that you were chasing is long gone, no one gets this far into the forest **unharmed** , unless the forest deems it so.” the man said in a growl. “And I am not so kind either, **get off my territory!** ” the man barked, making the villagers flinch and the dogs whine and hide behind the legs of those who stood closest to the forest.

  “What **are** you!?” one of the villagers shouted pointing their pitchfork towards the man who only huffed in annoyance.

  “Leave now, before you lose **more** than a little girl.” the man voice turned animalistic in the end, almost as if he was growling, but she still couldn’t see his face properly.

She stared wide eyed as she saw pure fear fill the villager’s faces before they with screams ran back the way they came, some dropped their torches which spluttered on the wet ground before dying out in a wisp of smoke.

 

She was so confused that she barely registered that the door opened before it closed loudly with a bang.

She gave away a startled yelp, scrambling to turn only to collapse to the floor; she turned her head to find a pair of wild violet eyes looking back at her. Black hair and pale skin was what god had given the young man who stood at the door, shoulders dark from the deer’s blood, he had left the deer outside. He raised one eyebrow at her before he huffed and moved into the cottage.

  “So you’re the one they chased after.” he muttered before he walked over to the table and took a small basket and turned back to her “Why did the forest lead you here and let you **in**?” he muttered to himself before he exited the house again, closing the door just as loudly.

 

She looked out through the dirty window, to see how he hung up the deer on one of the beams that held up the roof over the porch, before he started to skin the deer. When he was done he started to cut thin strips of meat away and put them in a bucket he had brought with him, a pack of weary looking wolves and a scabby looking fox slowly move towards him from the forest.

She was about to call out a warning when she saw how the man cut off something from the deer and threw at the animals, the wolves attacked the piece of meat he’d thrown at them, before he threw another piece for the fox who took it and rushed back into the forest.

The wolves growled and snapped at each other slightly to get to the scraps the man threw at them, as he continued to cut the meat away from the deer. Once he was done with the deer, leaving almost completely clean cut bones left, took he down the carcass and walked out in the clearing, the wolves eyed him with what seemed to be respect but also interest, and they chased after the carcass when the man threw it into the forest, the carcass split in two when it hit a tree trunk and the wolves followed it into the dark of the forest with yips and hungry growls.

The man dried the blood from his hands and knife before he walked inside again and placed the bucket of meat on the table before he got a jar with a mix of salt and herbs and started to rub into the meat, before he hung them up among the other pieces of meat and fish over the fireplace.

 

  “Uh… e-excuse me- um, mister? Just- who… uh, who are you?” she asked as she turned away from the window to look at the man as he worked, she moved over to the thick oak table in the middle of the room, fidgeting with the hem of her deep brown wool vest, the most expensive thing she wore, even if it now was full of drying mud.

  “And here I thought you were taught manners.” the man grumbled, she blinked in surprise, the man turned to face her once he was done with the last piece of meat, and crossed his arms before he gave her a once over. “The forest wouldn’t let a human in this far, you don’t smell that much human either, what _are_ you?”

She stiffened, how did he know that, and what smell, sure she probably smelled like whatever shit she’d fallen into and the stench of the mud but what in hell’s name was he talking about? She frowned at him, scrunching her brows and squinting, feeling whatever was still on her face crack slightly where it had dried.

  “What do you mean?” the man noticed how she grew more guarded and eyed him with a slight distrust.

  “It is rare that a human is let this far into the forest.” he elaborated with an uncaring shrug

  “ **You’re** here.” she bit back.

  “I _live_ here; it’s far away from people.”

  “What are _you_?” she asked glaring at him, body tense and fists clenched.

  “I asked you first.” the man replied as he grabbed a wooden spoon and walked over to the cauldron and lifted the black lid and stirred the content, she peered into it the best she could from where she stood at the table and saw what she thought were oatmeal.

She exhaled sharply in a groan, feeling more cracks appear on the dry stuff on her face.

  “ **Fine** , I’m Katie Therese Holt, my mom… was a witch.” the man cast a look at her over his shoulder with a slight surprise in his eyes.

  “Halfling? Your kind is rare in general, and now with the witch-hunts going on even rarer.” Katie looked away with a pained scowl crossing her arms over her chest. The man pursed his lips slightly and straightened up as he turned to face her.

  “My name’s Keith, I’m an orphan, I was never told my last name nor do I think I have a middle one.”

  “Oh…” she exhaled out, giving him a pained look. Keith scowled at her slightly before he turned and walked over to a cupboard and took out two bowls made from wood.

  “So any plans on where you’re going to go now? Any relatives that are witches and can let you live with them and teach you how to use your magic? I doubt your mother has been able to teach you everything yet.”

  “None, my mother was the only child and my grandmother died when I was five… Also I can’t return to the village where my aunt lives, if I do I will be turned in and burned at the stake in the blink of an eye” Keith eyed her for a moment, before he walked over to the kettle and filled the bowls with oatmeal and placed them on the table, he pushed one of them over to Katie who looked down at it in surprise before she looked up at him again.

  “Eat.” he said and took out a pair of spoons made from iron and handed her one as he took the other, before he started to eat.  
Katie watched him for a moment, before she started to eat as well.

The food was warm, and tasted so much like her mother’s that the pain returned, she tried her best to ignore the tears as they filled her eyes, before they started to roll down her dirty cheeks, she sniffled harshly when she felt snot tickle her upper lip, but she didn’t stop eating, Keith cast her an alarmed look, but she just shook her head hard before he had time to open his mouth to ask if she was okay.

 

Katie scraped the last of the oatmeal away from the bowl, before she rubbed and stroked her hands at her face uncaring about the drying mush on her face, sniffling and hiccupping.

  “You… okay?” Keith asked slowly with a slight hesitation.

  “I- I want my _mom!_ ” Katie sobbed as new tears fell down her cheeks. She curled together on the chair she sat on, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging around her legs as sobs hiccups wrecked her slight frame, causing dry mud to fall to the floor.  
Now when everything had calmed down somewhat, and she was somewhere relatively safe and she got time to think and absorb what had happened she could finally let her pain out without fear of being found or captured by the villagers. A hiccupping sob left her as she rubbed the heel of her hands at her eyes to get the tears away, her breath was shaky and halted and shuddered from time to time along with hiccups and hulking sobs.

A confused noise left her when a pelt suddenly was placed over her shoulders and head, she looked up from her hands, making the pelt fall to rest on her shoulders, to find how Keith gave her a thin smile, before he took her empty bowl and spoon and walked over to a barrel of water and started to clean the wooden bowls and spoons, before he put them away to dry.

  “You can stay here for the night. But I want you gone by morning. The forest seems to like you, so it will lead you somewhere safe. I’ll warm some water so you can wash yourself.” he said and filled a smaller cauldron with water and placed it over the fire.

  “C- Could I maybe borrow some clothes from you?” Katie asked in a weak shaky voice, still thick with emotional ache, and slightly congested.

  “What? _Why_?” Keith turned to give her a startled look “You got your dress; I doubt you’ll need to borrow my clothes. Also, they are too big for you.”

  “Please! They are searching for a girl with long brown hair, I cut my hair, and used my magic to try and get them away. But they found out and I’ll be even more noticeable if I have short hair and was dressed like _this_!” a growl left Keith as he groaned.

  “Ugh, fine. I’ll see if I can find something. Watch the water, I doubt you want it boiling.” he ordered before he with heavy steps walked over to the open door that led to the other room muttering under his breath.

 

Katie eyed the water in the cauldron, dipping the tip of her pinkie into it to test the warmth.  
She took the water away from the fire when she deemed it warm enough, and put a brass bowl on the table, just as Keith returned, dropping several pieces of clothing on the table.

  “Here. I found some trousers, blouses and a vest, and some belts; you’ll have to see if they fit. I’ll be outside if you need me.” Keith said before he took an empty bucket and left through the front door, slamming it shut behind him, causing Katie to flinch.

 

She sighed before she started to undress from her sticky and half dry clothes that was covered in mud and mush, until she stood in nothing but her undergarments: a pale shirt that supported her breasts and her beige drawers that reached to her knees. She let the dirty clothes she had been wearing, fall uncaring to the floor in a heap, before side stepping them.

She took a piece of cloth Keith had placed on the table to dry herself with closer to the bowl, before she put her hands in the warm water and started to wash away the mud, dirt, sweat and tears from her face, chest and arms and washed her hands once she was done and the water was so dirty that you couldn’t see the bottom of the bowl anymore, she took the towel and dried of her face and body thoroughly, before she turned to face the clothes Keith had left on the table.

She tested the trousers by holding them in front of her waist to see how big they were, some of them dragged the floor clearly to long but she found a pair that was originally a pair of knee long trousers for Keith, but they were just enough for her, she put them on, along with one of the blouses, she fastened the trousers over it with the belt, having to go to the very last hole in order to keep the pants up and not end up at her knees. She picked up her wool vest again and shook it hard making the dry mid crackle and fall to the floor; she brushed the rest of it before taking it on.

The clothes were still too big for her, but it made her female figure, that was starting to appear with her age, to disappear and be hidden by the saggy fabrics, she moved a hand to her hair, it was still uneven, she sighed, she was gonna miss her long hair.

She grabbed the bowl with dirty water and staggered over to the door to try and not spill any, she kicked it up before she emptied the water outside, startling something small that squired out in the clearing and into the dark far too fast for her eye to catch what it was but a dark shadow.

  “I see you’re done.” Keith’s voice said from behind her, making her turn around, she wasn’t sure if she imagined the yellow reflection that flashed in his eyes like that of a cat, or not.

  “Yeah… I found something that fitted, somewhat.” Keith gave away a noncommittal noise and walked inside carrying the bucket now full of clear water.

  “You want to keep your old clothes?” Keith called from inside, Katie walked inside as well holding the empty bowl and shook her head as she closed the door with her free hand.

  “I got no use for them anymore.”

Keith shrugged before he threw them into the fire, the damp fabrics hissed and spluttered, before the fire’s hunger got the best of its pointless fight. Katie watched as the fabrics darkened before they caught blaze. She hadn’t realized that she zoned out until Keith clasped his hands together and stood up from where he had been sitting crouched before the fire.

  “It’s late.” Keith said and gathered the clothes Katie hadn’t chosen and entered the other room again. He stopped at the door giving her a once over when he exited the room. “You can take my bed, I’ll get by.”

  “What?! No, it’s your bed! I couldn’t possibly-”

  “Would you rather sleep on the floor?” Keith asked and raised one eyebrow, Katie grimaced at the idea. “Take the bed.”

  “But-”

  “Trust me, you’ll need all the rest you can get for tomorrow.” Katie frowned before she sighed, shoulders slumping.

  “Fine.” she moved over to the door lifting her head to face Keith, who nodded and walked over to the table and took the pelt he had put over her earlier and placed it over his shoulders to wrap around himself.

  “Good night… Keith.” she said before she turned to the room.

  “’night.” Keith replied back.

 

Katie pushed the door until it was almost closed and took a look around in the smaller room of the cottage, a candle stood on the table next to the open chairbed that was unmade. The blankets and pelts lay tangled along with the pillow.

Katie looked around more, and saw the chest where she guessed Keith’s clothes were. An old looking, but still sharp sword hung on the wall over a mostly overgrown window; Katie saw how some of the roots from both the tree and plants had sneaked inside through the cracks of the cottage’s walls. A tapestry hung on the wall opposite the bed; it was a landscape she didn’t recognize. A couple of old books stood stacked on each other on the floor, along with flat rocks and wooden carvings.

She took of her vest and shoes and sat down on the bed.  
She yelped when it was way softer than she first anticipated, causing her to sink down on the mattress, she blinked before she removed her trousers to be able to sleep more comfortably before she lay down.

The bed smelled weird, a stage mix of moist earth, smoke, a smell she wasn’t sure where she remembered it from but she could only think about one of the towns dogs, a big and fluffy one, a half wolf, pine and sweat along with a scent that clearly was Keith clung to the bed and pillows. But despite with how weird it smelled to her nose, it was surprisingly calming.

But even so the pain returned and she felt her eyes prickle; she sniffled, curling together in the chairbed and pulled the blanket up to her face and burrowed her face into the pillow as the tears started to fall. She wanted her father to hug her and wish her a good night, she wished for her brother to ruffle her hair before he would tuck her in, despite her being 16… but most of all she wished with her whole being for her mother to kiss her goodnight and sing her to sleep.

She gave away a keen as she sobbed, the pillow growing damp, but sleep was kind to her and gently took her to a dreamless sleep. She never noticed how Keith had moved to stand at the door to cast a look at her, to make sure she was okay and asleep before he walked back to the fire place to lie down before it, he threw the pelt over his head once he gotten comfortable.

The fabric of the pelt suddenly start to shift and move before it stilled, but the form of a human had changed to something that was way bigger than a man.

 

-O-

 

Katie woke up slowly, the sound of birds singing reached her ears and she yawned before she pushed herself up on her elbows and rubbed at her eye. She looked around in the still dim room; sunlight fell in through the window where the plant’s leaves left openings.

She yawned again and sat up and brushed her hand through her short uneven hair, once again missing the length it once had been. She pushed the blanket and pelts away and took on her shoes and trousers, before she moved over to the door and looked into the room as she took on her wool vest, the pelt Keith had slept in was hanging folded over the back of one of the chairs again.

The fire place was out and the cauldron stood empty over the ashes.

 

Katie looked around with sleep still in her system, but she saw no sign of Keith, only a bowl with something steaming, she walked closer to see how a bowl of cooling oatmeal, she looked around and saw that the other bowl was on the bench clearly washed, so she took the bowl and spoon and started to eat.

 

The sound of chopping wood reached her ears when she ate and it made her look to the other side of the cottage, where another door was, that she hadn’t noticed the night before was. She scraped the last of the oatmeal from the bowl before washing it and putting it to dry next to the other, before she moved over to the door and opened it.

A small backyard appeared before her, bushes mostly concurred by hops made up the edge between the forest and the small yard, a pile of poles and logs laid near the house wall and she could see holes in the grass from the road bunnies and other small rodents took to use the logs as a home and hiding place. Already cut pieces of wood laid in another pile where a big chopping block made from old oak stood, reaching her torso.

Keith stood before it; in only his trousers and boots as he chopped up the wood of the pile of wood, with a well used axe. Sweat was making his pale skin glitter in the early lights that coloured the sky gentle blue and yellow with some specks of pink. She watched him chop the wood with the axe, and how his muscles move under his skin it was now she noticed the pinkish scar that covered his right shoulder, from the middle of his shoulder blade up over his shoulder to run down the front of his body, how long she couldn’t see, it looked as if a big animal had made it, but despite the scars ugly look, she couldn’t see any loos of muscle mass like other scars she’d seen back when her mother had healed some of the villagers. Faint freckles covered his shoulders and neck and paler smaller scars speckled his back and arms.

Katie looked away feeling her face burn when she realized that she had been staring.

 

  “Oh, you’re awake.” Keith said, making her look back only to choke on her breath. Keith had the axe resting on his shoulder as he stroked his drenched hair away from his face, his body built wasn’t big, but strength was still in the long muscles of his arms and his torso. “You found the oatmeal?” Katie nodded.

Keith grabbed the axe and chopped it into the chopping block before he turned around, he grabbed his grey shirt and used it one of the sleeves to get most of the sweat away, before he took it on along with the rust brown leather and wool vest and turned to her, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “I’ll bid you farewell now, have a good trip and hope your life becomes a good one and all that crap. Now get gone.” He said and made an uncaring gesture with his hand.

  “I will. Thank you for your generosity.” Katie said only causing Keith to shrug before he gathered the fire wood in a woven fibre basket and hoisted it up and started to carry it inside. Katie looked after him, before she took a deep breath and walked out through the bushes and hops and out into the forest, deciding to go straight ahead and see where she ended up.

 

Keith had moved to the front of the cottage and was sharpening his hunters knife in the sunshine when he heard steps from the forest and looked up to see how Katie came walking again scratching her head in confusion as she looked back at the forest she now was exiting.

  “I was sure I walked north.” she said to herself turning back to look at the cottage, Keith stared at her slowing his motions until he stopped.

  “You didn’t walk in a circle then?”

  “No! I walked north!” Katie snapped and stormed across the clearing and into the forest again.

 

Keith heard how the wind made the crowns of the leaf trees rustle and then he heard steps again, he looked up to see how Katie came walking again, she looked annoyed and confused.

  “For the love of **god** , come on!” she shouted

  “Don’t waste the _almighty’s_ name.” Keith grumbled in sarcasm.

 

The wind blew him in the back ruffling his hair and Keith realized then what the forest wanted.

  “Oh hell no!” Keith said loudly looking up at the tall old trees, making Katie jolt in surprise staring at him “I’m not taking care of her!” he barked, putting his hunter knife back in its sheath on his hip and pointed at Katie, who stared at him in surprise.

  “What..?” Katie started but Keith spoke again as he faced the forest.

  “I am not good company for a _child_!” he growled.

  “I’m not a child!” Katie snapped back

 

The ground then suddenly moved under Keith’s feet turning him around so that he was facing Katie who stared at him with widening eyes, jaw falling open.

Keith growled glaring into the forest before he kicked the ground with his heel hard.

  “I’m not taking care of her!” the ground pushed him forward making Keith stumble and almost fall on his face. “You’ve set your mind on this, huh?” Keith growled glaring at the ground, it rumbled slightly under his feet as the wind seemed to make the forest sigh.

  “What’s going on?” Katie asked with a worried voice, unsure if the ground would start to move under her too.

  “The forest doesn’t want us to part.”

  “What?”

  “You were walking north, this forest just moved around you to make you get back here.”

  “Wait... It can do that?”

  “Yeah, how do you think I’ve been able to stay alone for this long?”

  “Uhh?” Katie shrugged “You’re place was not exactly easy to find, I don’t even remember how I got here, I was just running”. Keith sighed before he pushed a hand through his black locks, an annoyed look on his face.

  “The forest led me here; I’ve been able to stay alone since then. Well till yesterday and now, here you are.” Keith said gesturing to Katie who scowled at him. Keith then suddenly stilled and straightened there he stood, body tensing.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, Keith quickly shushed her.

  “Do you hear that?” Keith asked in a hushed whisper.

  “I don’t hear anything…” Katie mumbled silently.

  “Exactly” Keith looked out in the forest with scanning eyes “The forest is seldom this quiet…”

The barking of a dog then reached their ears.

It was close

Far too close for their liking.

 

  “ _Humans_.” Keith stated with a snarl.

  “What?!” Katie cried out eyes widening in fright, she had started to think she was going to be quit the villagers in this seemingly magical forest, after they ran off the night before.

A dark chuckle left Keith as he grabbed her upper arm and pushed her closer to the porch of the cottage; Katie stumbled up and placed her hand on the door.

  “I’m surprised it didn’t take them longer to come back.” Keith said as he walked backwards until he stood at the stone stairs, facing the clearing. “Get inside.” he said giving Katie a demanding look, she swallowed and nodded stiffly before she opened the door and disappeared inside.

 

The first dog entered the clearing followed by two more, they growled when they saw Keith. It didn’t take long before the villagers came out in the clearing as well, not as many as the night before, but still many.

  “It seems you all want to lose more than a little girl.” Keith said loudly sending the villagers a glare. “Your girl still hasn’t been through here.”

  “The dogs beg to differ.” the leader of the group said “You’re hiding her from us!”

  “Why would I do that? I hate company. Get gone.” one of the dogs moved around Keith to scratch at the door, growling and trying to use the handle. Keith sent the dog a death glare and a growl, causing the dog to whimper and shrink there it stood at the door. “I also hate dogs; get these beasts away from my land.”

  “You are in no position to make demands. Where is the witch?”

  “This forest is big, and old, she could be anywhere.” Keith glared at the villagers. “Now get back to your village. This forest is no place for the likes of you.” Keith turned his back to them glaring at the dog that whimpered and rushed back to the villagers.

A gunshot echoed through the forest.

Katie cried out from there she stood at the window, forgetting to stay hidden, the man who fired the shot reloaded and fired at the window. Katie screamed again and threw herself at the floor, avoiding the bullet that just missed her and shattered glass by holding her arms over her head.

 

An animalistic yowl suddenly rang through the forest, unlike anything she ever heard before, causing her body to freeze, the dogs whined loudly and gave away frightened yips, one of the dogs gave away a cry of pain and then grew silent. Fear pulsed through her veins at the sounds.  
She heard how the villagers screamed in fear as well, but also the growling of an animal way too big for being a normal dog or even a wolf and how the gun was fired three more times before there was the sound of complaining metal followed by a snap and a startled cry of fear.

Katie slowly dared to look out through the window, body trembling and her eyes widened and she paled, in the clearing stood the darkest and biggest wolf she’d ever seen it was the size of a shire horse; the gun lied on the ground bit in half. Some of the villagers were lying knocked out or wounded on the ground while others scrambled to escape pulling their unconscious and hurt comrades with them, all of the villagers ran away from the clearing, leaving just the big black wolf in their place.

 

Silence fell over the clearing apart from the deep growl that trembled from the wolf’s big form.

Katie rose slowly there she stood, glass falling off her shoulders and back to clatter against the wooden floor, then she remembered that Keith gotten shot.

She scrambled over to the door, slipping on some of the glass shards, before she threw the door open.

  “KEITH?!” she cried out, only to find blood splattered on the porch and stairs and the bullet, buried into the door, leaving a dent and the wood torn and cracked.

The big wolf turned around and faced her, and she found herself eye to eye with a pair of violet eyes with a yellow pupil, surrounded by thick black fur.

She froze there she stood, fear striking her again she blinked hard as time seemed to come to a halt. “Keith...?”

 

The big animal gave away a tired noise and she stared as the fur started to move and then Keith stood before her, his shirt was covered in red and hung in torn shreds where the bullet that hit him at his right shoulder, the wound was already healed only the blood was left. He brushed a bloody hand through his hair as some blood was around his mouth and teeth.

  “This… wasn’t how I planned things to go…” Keith grumbled “I hadn’t planned on letting you know at all.” He grumbled and looked away

  “What are you? A **shifter**?” he was way too big to be a normal shifter, no shifter could change the animal’s body mass, Katie took a scared step back, she knew that most shifters had a bad reputation, among both humans and monsters as unpredictable and deadly, she pale.

She was alone in a magical forest with a _shifter_ … great just great, she was gonna get killed!

  “You could say that…” Keith said sending her a look before he huffed at his destroyed shirt.

Katie gripped the doorframe hard, as she brought up her knife; she had moved the sheath from where she’d kept it before, to get to it easier now when she wore trousers instead o a dress.

Keith turned to face her, a tired look in his eyes as he rolled them when he saw the knife, before he grabbed the torn shirt to dry the blood away from his hands and mouth. He spat some blood-filled saliva onto the ground to get his mouth clean and grimacing slightly at the taste.

  “I won’t attack you.” He said before looking in the direction the villagers had run “If I learnt anything about humans is that they won’t go away; especially now when they know you’re here, I believe they will be back with more reinforcements.” Keith sighed “Humans can be a real pain in the arse.”

  “I’m sorry.” Katie said slowly lowering the knife.

  “Not your fault, if someone is at a fault here so is it the **forest** for letting the villager’s _in,_ in the first place!” he growled at the end, glaring at the forest. “We can’t stay here; we need to pack the essentials and leave.”

  “But where will we go?”

  “I don’t know, north, as you planned? We’ll take each day as it comes, until we’ve found someone who can take you in to teach you magic, and then we will go our different paths.”

  “But… what about you?”

  “A matter for another day.” Keith replies dismissively, before he pushes Katie inside the cottage.

 

Keith picks up two satchels from the bottom of the chest of clothes, and starts to pack a plaid in both of them to work as bedrolls and gathers the dried meat of both the deer and fish in thin birch bark along with some dried berries and fruit, along with cheese and bread.

He filled a leather pouch with the few coins he had before he takes a smaller knife and is about to pack it down as well when he sees how Katie moves a hand through her hair once again causing the uneven locks to tangle.

  “Do you want me to even that out for you?” he asks standing up a little straighter, Katie jolts and blinks at him before she understood what he just asked.

  “Uh… yeah, that would probably be for the better.” Keith gestured for her to sit down on the chair before he took the knife and started to even out the hair, letting the brown locks fall to the floor of the cottage.

Keith’s fingers were careful and warm the moments where their skin touched, but she was slowly dozing off to the feeling of his fingers in her hair and the sound of the knife cutting her hair.

  “What do you want me to call you?” Keith suddenly asks, breaking the silence

  “Hm?” Katie hummed in question opening her eyes again, not really looking back at him

  “If you want to appear as a boy, then Katie is a bit weird for a boy’s name, don’t you think.” Keith asks as he puts the knife away and then ruffles Katie’s hair to get the strands away before he backs away and packs down the knife in the satchel before picking them up, Katie turns to him and takes the satchel he hands over to her while he throws the other one over his shoulder, ready to leave.

 

They’re both wearing dark brown hooded cloaks over the satchels as a way to keep the chilly air out and to keep warm and appear less visible in the foliage of the forest and to be able to hide their face under the hood if they have to enter a town.

Katie hums in thought as the two of them exist the cottage, Keith stops at the door watching the house with a mournful expression on his face, before he closes the door and moves towards the forest.

  “Pidge.” she suddenly says, Keith turns to give her a confused look.

  “Really?” he asks in disbelief, Katie just grins

  “Yes.” She says causing Keith to groan.

  “Do I dare ask why?”

  “It… was a nickname my brother gave me…” Keith gives her a look and she just smiles at him, a bit strained but she was trying to portray strength.

 

The forest swallows them up as they leave the clearing, just as the sun reaches zenith.

No tracks are left behind them.

The cottage was quickly overgrown by the plants and flowers  
the forest once again claiming the cottage as its own.

 

-O-


	2. -No Reason to Stay Is a Good Reason to Go-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this!?  
> What's this!?  
> An update on a fic!

Chapter 2

- **No Reason to Stay Is a Good Reason to Go** -

 

They had walked for days, but the forest still spread out before them with no sign of ending anytime soon. Despite the sun standing high in the sky, the forest was still dim below the old trees thick crowns.

Keith walked first, walking along paths, to Katie, seemingly nonexistent, but she followed him nonetheless, because she knew that if she didn’t, she’d end up so lost not even God would be able to save her.

 

They climbed over a big fallen tree trunk, covered by thick moss and leaves from the vegetation, startling a bird that flew away with angry chirps which in turn startled a dear causing it to jump away before stopping to stare at them with intense dark eyes. A squirrel squired up a tree to chatter with another about them, Katie watched them with interest; it wasn’t often squirrels appeared close to or in her village.

 

Birds sang loudly in the forest along with the song the wind had taught them by rustling the leaves in the treetops.

Fern reached her chest and she cursed her shortness when she saw that the fern only reached Keith’s hips.

  “How big is this forest?!” Katie asked looking around “I feel like we’re walking in circles.” A slight annoyed huff comes from Keith direction but he doesn’t answer. “Keith.” Katie calls. Keith doesn’t turn nor stop walking. “ _Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeith_.” Katie calls again drawing the name out, she notices the twitch in Keith’s shoulders and thinks that his hair seems to rise, but it could as well be the wind. “Keith!” she calls louder this time.

  “WHAT?!” Keith snarls and turns around to face her, and Katie isn’t sure if the yellow that flashes over his eyes occurred or if it was a trick of the light.

  “How **big** is this forest? And do you even know where you’re going?” Keith bristles and bares his teeth before he turns his back on her and begins to move again.

  “I have never physically been in this part of the forest, all I know is that we’re walking north, like _you_ wanted, so quit complaining.” he replies with an annoyed tone.

Katie groans loudly at that, but she quickly hurries to catch up to Keith, side stepping to be able to walk at his side to peer up at his face.

  “How did you end up in the forest to begin with?” Katie asks, Keith send her a pointed look, but form the look on her face understands that he won’t get away from answering it.

  “It was far away from humans.” is all he huffs out.

  “So… you don’t like humans?”

  “What _possibly_ gave you **that** idea?” Keith asked sarcasm thick in his voice, before he walked faster leaving Katie behind in a stunned shock.

  “They’re not all that bad…” Katie said as she hurries to catch up.

  “Says the one who was chased away by villagers and bound to be burned at the stake when caught. Humans are stupid and have a tendency to be scared of things they can’t or **won’t** understand, and scared humans in mobs are dangerous.”

  “You seem to know what you’re talking about… did the humans you lived with chase you away when they found out you were a shifter?” something dark flashed over Keith’s face and he looked away.

  “I left.” he stated matter-of-factly.

 

-O-

 

The forest grew darker as the sun started to descend towards the horizon for its nightly rest, the trees were bigger and older here than the forest they had walked through the previous days and from the way Keith had slowed his pace to what she would tally as normal walking speed and grown tense she wasn’t sure what to feel. The feeling of being watched hung heavy in the air along with a strange tension that left the hairs on her body to stand on end.  
Powerful magic swirled in the air here.

She jolted when Keith suddenly placed his hand on the handle of the hunting knife, a low growl leaving him as he peered into the darkness between the trees.

  “Keith..?” Katie asked in a low voice, the forest grew darker around them as the sun disappeared behind the horizon causing only the highest tops of the trees to be cast in gold steadily shrinking as the sun disappeared lower and lower and the dark of the night took over.

  “These are the oldest parts of the forest… old mythical and magical beings live here. And from what the forest has told me… are they are not all overly friendly...” Keith said, Katie moved closer to the shifter, unsure on how much she could trust him, but knowing deep down that he was her safest bet in this forest. “Don’t let go.” Keith murmured in a low voice as he took a hold of her hand and they kept moving. Katie felt her face heat up in a strong blush and blessed the dark to keep Keith from seeing it, she wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye if he knew that just holding her hand would make her face go red as a rose.

 

A rustle in the trees caused her to lift her eyes and she gasped when a big creature seemingly made of earth and grass and wood alike appeared from between the trees and fern, it looked like a gigantic moose- if a moose had six legs and-

She paled

Five eyes without pupils that seemed to stare right through her into her very being.

A shove caused her to jolt and she heard Keith hiss at her to not stare, she quickly jerked her face away from the animal, as it walked right over them with its long legs, without a care in the world that they were even there, the big antlers were covered in ivy and other clinging plants that hung down them, the antlers themselves seemed to be made of wood and rock fused together.

Katie stared after it, but then a bright light caused her to turn her head and a soft gasp left her lips when she saw a herd of unicorns walk among the trees, one of them, with a long spiralled horn shifting in light pastel colours depending on the way you saw it.

The unicorn watched the two of them with wise eyes, keeping guard.

  “I didn’t think Unicorns existed…” Katie whispered, afraid her voice would scare them off, she hadn’t noticed that she and Keith had stopped walking all together.

  “That’s because they don’t want to be found, those who was, was killed due to humans greed and lust for power.” Keith answered in a low voice “therefor it’s only said fair maidens can see them, because they don’t walk around with swords.”

  “But you have your hunting knife, I saw you kill a deer with it.”

  “A deer is one thing a Unicorn is something entirely different.” Keith bit out sending Katie an angry look. “I would never dream of hurting a Unicorn, they’re creatures of light, if you kill them you will be cursed to lose all light from your life till the day you die.”

  “Oh…”

  “Come on let’s keep moving, I do not want to make camp in this part of the forest.” He pulled her along and Katie groaned slightly before walking along.

 

The sound of running water reached their ears and Keith steered the way in the direction of it.

A shallow creek became visible, the water was crystal clear running over rounded smooth rocks, the moon shone down at the clearing the creek had created causing the water to look like liquid silver.

Keith looked at the water with a sceptic eye before he started to move pulling Katie with him, colourful lights suddenly lit up the night and several small voices that merged together to a constant gibberish, but what made him flinch was when he suddenly didn’t feel Katie’s hand in his anymore, he turned around to see how she was staring wide eyed at the pixies that flew around her, looking like balls of colourful lights, it was only if you watched closely that you saw the small bodies.

Keith could only stare, she was beautiful in the lights the pixies washed over her pale face and hair, which a gentle breeze decided to play with.  
Want growled in his stomach as his eyes flashed yellow, but he quickly pushed it away, he wasn’t the one she needed.

  “Pidge.” he called causing her to jolt, she looked away from the pixies to look at him. “We need to keep moving, come one.” he jerked he head towards the creek they would need to cross in order to get further north.

  “But look at the fairies, they’re so pretty, I don’t want to leave.” Katie said with a smile on her lips, eyes already troll bound, Keith cursed in his mind before walking forward and pulled her close before pulling up his hunting knife. The pixies hissed at him, their colours growing more threatening.

  “She’s **not** for you.” Keith growled moving his hunting knife in a wide arch before him and Katie to keep the pixies away, the iron and silver reflected the moons light. “ **Leave** her.” He demanded, the pixies hissed as they flew away.

Katie slumped in his hold before jerking ad standing up straight again.

  “Wha-what?” she asked looking around in confusion “were did the fairies go?”

  “Those **weren’t** fairies.” Keith said letting go of her but grabbing her wrist to make sure she was still with him. “They were **pixies** , those are dangerous, they had you troll bound, but they don’t like iron.” Keith made a moment with his knife “so I chased them away.” he put it back in its sheath at his hip.

They moved to the water and Katie contemplated removing her shoes to not get them wet when wading over the creek, but Keith made the decision for her, dragging her along into the ankle high water and walked across the creek before they reached the other side of the small stream. They didn’t meet the Man in the River nor hear his violin play either so that was a plus according to Keith. The forest on the other side of the creek were not as thick with magic and as they walked further north the trees became smaller and younger and Katie noticed how Keith started to relax again, and then he let go of her wrist, she kind of missed the warmth but held back, there was no need for handholding now when the forest were relatively safe.

They found a glade among the trees, the moon shone down on them giving them enough light to see.

  “Let’s take camp here, it’s still a long time till daybreak and then we will keep walking.” Keith said. Katie groaned as she sat down on a rock stretching out her legs.

  “My feet are KILLING me!” she groaned as she took of her shoes and stretched and bended her toes to get then to be free. Keith snorted before he started to gather firewood for a fire.

It didn’t take long and soon the fire lit up the small camp and spread warmth in the chilly night air they Katie first not noticed once they stopped walking.

Katie took of the satchel she had been wearing and took out the bedroll and rolled it out on the dry ground, which was covered in dew. She took off her shoes and took off the coat, and rolled it into a pillow before bundling up in the bedroll before looking up when a piece of dry bread and meat and fish was held towards her, she send Keith a small smile and murmured her thanks as she took them and started to eat the food. The sparks and snaps from the firewood was drowsing and she ate slowly as her energy started to fade. She sent a look to the sky to see how the stars sparkled along with the half-moon.

  “Will we make camp during the full moon to? Or are we to walk the whole night since it’s just as bright as daylight?” Katie asked she looked back to Keith when he gave away a strangled noise and seemed to have choked on the piece of bread he had been chewing, he was pounding his fist against his chest before he started to couch. “You okay?” Keith nodded before he cleared his throat and seemed to try and speak but only a pitched croak left him before he grimaced and cleared his throat again and tried to get his breathing back, tears had gathered in his eyes, but he blinked them away and exhaled harshly.

  “Travelling during the full moon may seem like a good idea-” he lost his voice and looked annoyed a moment before he cleared his throat again “but I’d advise against it.”

  “Why?” Katie asked.

  “There are several beings that gain or are given power from the moon, the night of the Full Moon is the night of monsters.” Keith looked at her with steady eyes, but she saw how they reflected yellow in the light from the fire.

Keith said nothing else as he started to eat again, Katie didn’t have the energy to ask any more questions and instead laid down pulling the blanket over her, she stared into the fire for a while before she fell asleep to the silent whispers of the trees, the gentle warmth from the fire and the knowledge that Keith would keep watch.

  “Wake me when it’s my turn… to… keep… watch…” she said but her words grew mumbled at the end as sleep took her to Sandman’s land of dreams.

 

-O-

 

The half-moon slowly moved over the night sky colouring the world in silver and the shadows blue.

Two violet eyes looked up at it from the camp, the fire burned gently between two people, a sleeping young half-witch who was in disguise as a boy, to avoid being burned at the stake, and a tired looking shifter who once again feared the Full Moon.

Keith looked at Katie with pained eyes

  “What to do with you when the full moon gets here… thank God you’re still naïve enough to not know what I really am… and I will do my very best to remain a shifter in your eyes until you’re safe with a witch or wizard to teach you how to control your magic. **I swear**.”

-O-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT (2018-05-17): Discontinued for now.  
> (i got stuck and motivation and creativity don't wanna help me find my way around it)

**Author's Note:**

> Ask me if there is anything you want me to tag, because i have a very bad idea on how to that this one... :/
> 
>  _[Something Wicked This Way Comes](http://zhe-lazy-fox.tumblr.com/tagged/SomethingWickedThisWayComesFic) _ more into of the AU __  
> [Gif with Keith and Pidge](http://zhe-lazy-fox.tumblr.com/post/167135638012/zhe-lazy-fox-a-small-gif-for-something-wicked)  
> 


End file.
